Conn. univ. says weapons recovered, 1 in custody

Article by: JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

Associated Press

December 3, 2013 - 7:15 PM

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A person was taken into custody Tuesday and weapons were recovered following a report of a man near the University of New Haven campus with what appeared to be a rifle, the school said. No one was injured.

After the report came in just before 1 p.m., the university urged students and staff to stay inside, and several police officers responded to the West Haven school. Police said the man had two handguns, but released no further details.

The university lifted the lockdown around 5:30 p.m. after police searched the main campus, after searching the north and south campuses earlier in the afternoon and lifting restrictions there. Evening classes were canceled, however.

Kyle Gelinas, an 18-year-old freshman, said he saw a person in handcuffs being questioned by police across the street from his dorm.

"He's just sitting on the railing. They're just talking to him like a casual conversation," Gelinas said earlier Tuesday. "Everything is very calm."

The university enrolls about 6,400 students. The majority of its 4,600 undergraduates live in university housing.

Police in Fairfield, about 20 miles away, said they checked the home of the person taken into custody at the request of West Haven police, who were expected to conduct a search of the residence. They said the person has a valid pistol permit, issued in April, and has legally owned hand guns as well.

Several nearby public schools issued shelter-in-place orders as a precaution.

The report of an armed man marked the third scare at a Connecticut university in the last several weeks.

Last week, Yale University in neighboring New Haven was locked down for six hours after a man called police and said somebody was coming to shoot up the campus. Police have said that appeared to be a hoax.

Central Connecticut State University was in lockdown for several hours Nov. 4 after reports by witnesses of a masked man carrying a gun or sword. Police arrested a student, David Kyem, who said he had been wearing a ninja-like Halloween costume and meant no harm. He faces charges including breach of peace.